The magnificent wheeled machines of the Petersen Automotive Museum (pictures)

The grand entrance to the Petersen is far more impressive than the old, not least for the Bugatti, Rolls, Ferrari and Dodge Tomahawk. These are just a taste of what's to come.

For the full story behind the tour, check out Bond, Bentleys and more: Take a tour of the new Petersen Automotive Museum.

This Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "KPM Series" greets you as you enter. This is one of only four ever made.

This 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I is even rarer than the Bugatti: only one, this one right here, was ever built. The unique round-door coachwork was added in 1934.

This gorgeous 1956 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta has bodywork by Zagato. It's one of five ever made.

The recommended path for the tour is to take the elevator up to the third floor and work your way down. This floor is labeled "History" and has everything from movie cars to one-off designs from the 1950s.

It's a little odd-looking in photos, but beautiful in person. This is Steve McQueen's personal 1956 Jaguar XKSS. Apparently in the first year he owned it, he nearly got his license revoked. Twice.

This 1947 Cisitalia 202 Coupe may look boxy, but its Pinin Farina-designed body was radical in its day.

Not surprising given its proximity to Hollywood, the Petersen has a number of movie cars. The 1951 Chrysler on the left was one of two built for Howard Hughes and RKO studios. Next to that, the Volkswagen Bus from "Little Miss Sunshine." Peeking out behind that, the 1965 Lincoln Continental used in "Entourage."

Yep, one of the Batmobiles from the third-best Batman movie. To its left, one of the Bond cars from "Spectre," then one from "Die Another Day." The Pontiac Aztec was Walter White's in "Breaking Bad."

The Batcycle, otherwise known as a much-modified 1966 Yamaha YDS-3.

This is how James Cameron shot that epic chase scene at the beginning of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

Volkswagen Bus-as-pickup, with a classic '56 Chevrolet Bel Air behind.

This 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne XP-37 concept was built to show off new Chevy features such as its Turbo-Fire V-8, panoramic windshield and more. To me, it looks kinda buck-toothed.

Seriously, no one looked at this and thought, "Well, that looks goofy"?

The second floor focuses on "Industry." It has design studios, including an area for kids to learn about all aspects of cars (including, as you'll see, "Cars").

This Pantera was heavily worked over by Ringbrothers and Nike's Innovation Skunkworks Design. It won Best in Show at the 2011 SEMA auto show.

Behind the sadly defunct (but maybe not for long?) Fisker Karma is one of the design studios on this level, showing how cars go from drawing to clay model and beyond.

In this ArtCenter College of Design project, the students designed a compact Mini, featuring gullwings.

This clever display breaks a car (a Maserati) down into its various components, including chassis, drivetrain, interior and so on. On the right is the upcoming Ford GT, on loan.

On the left, the legendary Ford GT40. On the right, the upcoming GT. One won at Le Mans, the other will try.

A mix of alt-power vehicles from the ages, including the hydrogen-powered Honda FCX Clarity on the right and Toyota Mirai in the middle. On the far left, an early hybrid from 1914 called the Galt.

Not the most practical, this Fiat 508C Balilla ran on compressed natural gas because of shortages of gasoline in the lead up to WWII.

This section features a mix of race cars and show cars. The coral blue Mercury on the left was customized by the late George Barris.

The Ford Roadster on the right was built in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hot Rod magazine. The white car is a 1953 Hansen Cobra with a fiberglass body and an Olds Rocket 88 motor.

This 1964 Chevrolet Impala lowrider won "Outstanding Use of Color Design" at the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show. As an added bonus, it's powered by a chrome-plated Chevrolet Corvette engine.

The front end of this Mercedes-Benz W196 looks like the back end of a Porsche 550. Both Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Sterling Moss won many races in the 1960s.

The winningest Ferrari ever. Here's the story (and the sound).

This Corvette XP-87 Stingray Racer show car looks like a cross between a Corvette and Speed Racer's Mach 5.

More than 20 years old, and still looking fast and new. The McLaren F1 is the grandaddy of all modern supercars.

This 1938 Dubonnet Xenia was commissioned by Andre Dubonnet and built on a Hispano-Suiza H6 chassis to show off a suspension system he'd designed.

Like all Italian automakers, Fiat has made its fair share of beautiful cars, but something like this probably isn't what most people think of when they hear the Fiat name. The 8V Supersonic was designed by Ghia.

This car looks familiar, but I just can't place it. Owned by, was it David Somerset? Peter Franks? James St. John Smythe?

That Jim Bob No. 7 sure has a lovely ride.

This cool display shows the evolution of motorcycles, from barely-more-than-a-bike on the left, to the high-horsepower and triple-digit speeds of the modern superbike.

A display showcasing multiple cylinder counts. Apparently they don't like odd numbers. I can think of several one- and three-cylinder motorcycles, and at least one interesting five-.

Four pipes on this side, four on the other. Yep, it sure is a V-8 motorcycle. The 1994 Morbidelli had a 0.85-liter V-8 and a body by Pininfarina. It would cost nearly $100,000 in today's money. Only four prototypes were made.

A series of Porsche racers. I had many of these as RC toys growing up. From left to right, 1980 935 K3 Sachs, 1969 917K Gulf Wyer (one of the most amazing race cars ever), 1980 936/80 Martini and 1986 962 Rothmans.

I tried to talk to him, but he just looked the other way and ignored me. Celebrities, ugh.

The ground floor is dedicated to "Artistry," and features mostly cars from the '20s and '30s. In center, a Bentley 4 1/4 Liter Embiricos with a body by Pourtout.

Off in the corner, this elegant 1936 Astura Cabriolet was designed by Pinin Farina.

One of two Bugatti 57Cs at the Petersen, this Atalante was styled by Jean Bugatti, Ettore's son.

It's a myth that all cars from the '20s and '30s wore drab colors. The red 1939 Delahaye Type 165 in the foreground is quite a counterpoint to the less flashy but still lovely 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahnkurier.

Brightened here so you can see the cars better, this curving projection wall added motion to the static displays of the cars beneath. The one in front is a 1938 Graham Model 97 Cabriolet. Though you may have never heard of Graham Motors, it eventually left automobile manufacturing and became the Madison Square Garden Corporation.

Far better-looking than many modern Peugeots, the 302 DS Darl'mat Cabriolet was one of the many models modified, as the name suggests, by Darl'mat.

This 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Aravis had bodywork by Gangloff, which apparently Jean himself said is the most beautiful Type 57.

One of my favorite BMWs, not least because I had an RC car of it growing up. This one was painted by Alexander Calder and became BMW's first Art Car.

This one hurts. I love the Art Car concept, but...only 1,510 850CSi coupes were ever made! The artist, David Hockney, wanted to make what was inside the car "outwardly visible."

South African artist Robin Rhode used this BMW Z4 as a brush on a huge canvas. The result is the coolest paint job I think I've ever seen on a car.

No spoilers? I haven't seen "Spectre" yet. This Land Rover Defender 110 was modified for and used in the film.

Back to the lobby and soon to home. The massive screen features an Instagram showcase for people who tag the museum in images, and video clips with celebrities talking about their favorite cars. My favorite touch: the four clocks you see above the screen, with the local time and the time in Daytona, Suzuka and my personal favorite, Le Mans, home of the greatest auto race in the world.

In short, the museum is definitely worth a trip for any car fan. Check out Petersen.org for more info.

For the full story behind the tour, read Bond, Bentleys and more: Take a tour of the new Petersen Automotive Museum.

Like most museums, the Petersen regularly changes their exhibits. We revisited to check out the Porsche Effect, but while we were checking out those German lovelies, we also checked out some of the beautiful red Ferraris that are currently upstairs. This, for example, is an 857 Sport. It was imported to LA in 1956, and is the only 857 with a fin.

The pretty-much-perfect 1961 250 GT California. 3-liter V12, 280 horsepower.

This isn't just any 250 LM, this is the one that won the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The timeless beauty of the 250 GTO.

For the rest of the Petersen tour, read Bond, Bentleys and more: Take a tour of the new Petersen Automotive Museum. 

For the Porsche Effect, check out Stuttgart stunners: the Porsche Effect at the Petersen Automotive Museum.